“Bad Weather” is the first single from electro-pop supergroup Starwalker, comprised of Frenchman Jean-Benoit Dunckel (AIR) and Icelandic composer Bardi Johannsson (Bang Gang).

Reminiscent of both of their past projects, it is as immediate as anything AIR has put out since Talkie Walkie, with panoramic atmospherics courtesy of Johannsson. Haunting and deliberately paced, it is a testament to the power of restraint. Unlike most of the electronic pop of the day, it sounds timeless.

Amidst ominous clouds, mist rising out of the red dust around them, Dunckel and Johannsson walk through a majestic, deserted landscape, as mysterious hooded figures and black balloons come in and out of the frame, suggesting a kind of fragile, uncertain peace.

By the end of the video, the black balloons fade into the ether, like the “Bad Weather” of the past has faded into the recesses of our mind.

“Bad Weather” is an engrossing audio/visual experience from two masters of atmosphere and tension.
Debut EP out soon.More on Starwalker:OFFICIAL WEBSITEFACEBOOK

Separately, the AM and Shawn Lee have been involved a lot of creative projects throughout the past decade: AM has toured with AIR, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Thievery Corporation, and ShawnLee has shared stages with Phoenix & Sigur Ros. Shawn Lee has also become one of hip hop’s most sampled artists, and has worked on tracks with everyone from Amy Winehouse & Leann Rimes to the Spice Girls!

Hailing from LA and London respectively, AM & Shawn Lee first bonded over their mutual love of vintage French and Italian Soundtrack music and 80’s digital effects. Separately, the two have racked up an impressive number of accomplishments: AM has earned widespread acclaim for his unique mixture of pop, soul, R&B and psychedelia, and Shawn Lee, best known as instrumentalist groove-master, is also one of hip hop’s most sampled artists. The duo have shared stages with bands such as AIR, Phoenix, Sigur Ros, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Caetano Veloso, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy.

For the first time ever, French synth-rock duo Housse de Racketwill be stepping foot left of the Atlantic Ocean when they tour the United States with fellow Frenchmen, pop trio Yelle, beginning December 2nd at the Fillmore in Miami, FL. The tour will be making additional stops in Georgia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.

The tour is following the release of their sophomore album, Alesia. In honor the tour, Housse de Racket is releasing a sneak preview tour video, as well as a remix of their first single Roman on November 22nd.

French synth-rock duo Housse de Racketis back with a brand new album Alesia, out this August. Alesia comes as a follow-up to their wildly successful debut, Forty Love, which garnered critical acclaim. The first available track from the explosive new album Alesia, seen on Kitsune Maison 10, is “Chateau,” check out the remix HERE.

The French duo will be touring throughout America in December with fellow Frenchmen, pop trio Yelle.

For Alesia, Housse de Racket has teamed up with French super-producer, Phillipe Zdar (Cassius, Phoenix, The Rapture) to create a collection of eleven electro-pop songs in the vein of the bands’ own wide range of musical influences; from Ennio Morricone to David Bowie. The result is a unique compilation of tracks that embody the sound Housse de Racket has made famous, both through their first album and their live show. Recorded half in French and half in English, Alesia is an evolution of sound; a bold new direction for the bands’ sophomore album.

Sonar, Barcelona’s experimental and electronic music festival, is to hold its first event in Chicago between Sept. 9-11.

Sonar was founded in 1994, but since 2002 has held parallel events outside Spain. Its first excursion into the United States was last year, with two events held in Washington and New York. In its early years, Sonar attracted mainly United Kingdom musicians, as well as a strong contingent from Barcelona’s home region of Catalonia.

Sonar says it expects the Chicago festival to become a regular event. The Chicago operation will be promoted together with Bonnaroo promoter AC Entertainment, with the collaboration of the cultural organization Institut Ramon Llull.

Sonar’s aim is to “disseminate the philosophy of the Barcelona festival and adapt it to new cities and formats.” In Chicago, it will present a “multi-disciplinary line-up with an experimental slant,” says Sonar, and will focus on emerging talent and local scenes in both North America and Catalonia.

The Sonar by Day events in Chicago will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center (CCC), and the headquarters of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The program will be completed with Sonar by Night shows and sessions.

The line-up will as usual combine some important names and less mainstream and more experimental offerings, and details will be announced in mid-July.

Cut from the forthcoming debut album Staring At The Ice Melt. Produced by Pierrick Devin (Adam Kesher, Alex Gopher, Cassius and Cut Copy) and mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat (Phoenix, Air and Sebastien Tellier)

“The way they arrange music is like a candy shop, everything is very sweet, the whole thing is very fresh. It’s a mix between classical music and modern pop music. Yeah, it’s a recent thing that people should know about for sure.” – Thomas Mars – Phoenix
Friends, we’ve got something really cool for you! It’s the “Gimme” EP from Thomas Mars (Phoenix) favorite new band, Fortune! To celebrate the release of this new EP and the forthcoming debut album Staring At The Ice Melt (both released March 23), Fortune is giving away all sorts of free goodies! See above for links to download remixes of Fortune tracks from Blackjoy and M83 and Fortune’s own Remix Collection CD including reworks of tracks from Phoenix, Pony Pony Run Run, My Tiger My Timing and more.

Fortune is comprised of members from various other music projects including Lionel Pierres (Abstrackt Keal Agram), Pierre Lucas (The Big Knife, DJ for Abstrackt Keal Agram, keyboards for Alain, Chamfort), Hervé Loos (Y front, Rodolphe Burger’s Meteor Band) and François de Miomandre (The Yolks). At the End of 2007, Fortune released their first EP, an intense delivery of four Synth Pop-Rock bangers brightly crafted to simultaneously create uproar in the crowd as well as stir emotions.

As for the influences, whereas most bands now labelled as ‘post-punk’ are clearly heir to one or more mythical acts (take your pick from Joy Division, Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Human League, New Order etc), Fortune goes against the flow : if you can spot, here and there, a few familiar sounds from those artists in the band’s music, the references put forward by the front man range from 60s Pop Rock bands such as the Zombies, The Troggs or Love, to basic Disco for its rhythm, or even the “King of Pop” himself Michael Jackson. Grandaddy, Doppler Effekt, Lo-Fi-Fnk and Vampire Weekend are quoted amongst the more recent bands having come to light in the last decade.

The chemistry could not have stuck together had it not been for an overwhelming production effort. Pierrick Devin, also regarded as the band’s fifth member, was given this task, as he had been before by Adam Kesher, Alex Gopher, Cassius or even Cut Copy. The mixing, vital to find the adequate balance of elements described above, was put in the trusted hands of Stéphane “Alf” Briat, also producer and mixer for such artists as Phoenix (“United”), Air (“Premiers symptoms”, “Moon Safari”, “The Virgin Suicides”), Sebastien Tellier (“Sessions”) etc. Finally, three additional artists also contributed to “Staring At The Ice Melt’s” musical richness: Arnaud Roulin from Poni Hoax (bass guitar and clavinet), Jean Thévenin (percussions, who also played with Soko, Toyfight, Hopper, Tahiti Bob & The Palmtree Family) and Melody Prochet (aka My Bee’s Garden) adding vocal harmonies.

“Gimme EP” and Staring At The Ice Melt LP released March 23 on Disquiet Records